This invention relates to roller skates and in particular to a steering assembly for an in-line roller skate with a foot controlled, rotatable wheel mechanism.
Conventional in-line skates utilize at least two wheels aligned one behind the other and positioned to only rotate along a single plane perpendicular to their axes of rotation. While functioning with some maneuverability, these skates are often awkward when turning, especially at high speeds.
Similarly, rocker skates disclose a center wheel or centrally located pair of wheels whose axes of rotation is below that of the front and rear wheels, to produce a pivoting or rocking action that facilitates turning and maneuvering. This orientation is inherently less stable than a skate with all axles on a common plane.
Steerable wheel systems for turning in-line skates, have attempted to solve this long felt problem. They often include a flexible mechanism to realign a steerable wheel. Some describe castor wheel assemblies and castor skate designs.
Such a skate is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,719,724 (to Lundgren, 1955). The user turns by pivoting the skate off vertical, which can influence a pair of synchronized castor wheels in the desired direction to aid steering. However, such clumsy, weight shifting maneuvers for steering, increase the difficulty in skating.
Another in-line skate with a steerable wheel system, employs a non-castor, rotatable wheel mechanism. Although useful in part, the wheel mechanism is controlled by a tilting foot motion.
Such a skate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,703,936 (to Jervoise, 1929) wherein the foot pivots sideways in a see-saw fashion on a base plate, actuating synchronized rotatable wheel mechanisms for steering. Once again, skating is more difficult because pivoting the foot off vertical for steering, requires awkward, weight shifting maneuvers in order to implement the steering gear.